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A barbershop quartet is a group of four singers who sing music in the barbershop genre of singing, which uses four-part harmony without accompaniment by instruments, a style called a cappella. It consists of a lead, the vocal part which generally carries the tune/melody; a bass, the part which provides the bass line to the melody; a tenor, the part which harmonizes above the lead; and a baritone, the part that completes the chord with the note not being sung by the lead, bass, or tenor singers. The baritone sings either above or below the lead singer as the harmony requires.
The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA), is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop music as an art form. Founded by Owen C. Cash and Rupert I. Hall in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1938, the organization quickly grew, promoting barbershop harmony among men of all ages. As of 2014, just under 23,000 men in the United States and Canada were members of this organization whose focus is on a cappella music. The international headquarters was in Kenosha, Wisconsin for fifty years before moving to Nashville, Tennessee in 2007. In June 2018, the society announced it would allow women to join as full members.
Acoustix is a Dallas, Texas-based quartet that won the 1990 International Quartet Championship of SPEBSQSA. They have all, at different times, been members of the Dallas-based Vocal Majority chorus.
Barbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era (1930s–present), is a style of a cappella close harmony, or unaccompanied vocal music, characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture. Each of the four parts has its own role: generally, the lead sings the melody, the tenor harmonizes above the melody, the bass sings the lowest harmonizing notes, and the baritone completes the chord, usually below the lead. The melody is not usually sung by the tenor or baritone, except for an infrequent note or two to avoid awkward voice leading, in tags or codas, or when some appropriate embellishment can be created. One characteristic feature of barbershop harmony is the use of what is known as "snakes" and "swipes". This is when a chord is altered by a change in one or more non-melodic voices. Occasional passages may be sung by fewer than four voice parts.
The Buffalo Bills were a barbershop quartet formed in Buffalo, New York, on September 20, 1947. The quartet won the 1950 International Championship and is well known for appearing in the 1957 Broadway production and the 1962 film version of The Music Man.
Sweet Adelines International is a worldwide organization of women singers, established in 1945, committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education and performances. This independent, nonprofit music education association is one of the world's largest singing organizations for women. "Harmonize the World" is the organization's motto. It has a current membership of 21,000 and holds an annual international singing competition.
Gotcha! is a barbershop quartet formed in 1996 by four members of the Masters of Harmony chorus.
Gas House Gang was a barbershop quartet that won the 1993 SPEBSQSA international competition. They started singing as a group in 1987.
Keepsake was an American barbershop quartet from Florida that won the 1992 SPEBSQSA International Barbershop Competition. Members of the quartet are Joe Connelly (lead), Tony DeRosa (baritone), Don Barnick (bass), and Roger Ross (tenor).
Creole Cutie is a song written for barbershop quartet, originally performed in 1950. It was co-written by Glenn Sudduth and Bill 'Bus' Busby. Its copyright is held by SPEBSQSA, as the authors donated the song.
The Confederates were a barbershop quartet that performed in the 1950s and 1960s.
Bluegrass Student Union is the Louisville, Kentucky barbershop quartet that won the 1978 SPEBSQSA International competition. They distinguished themselves by performing at a high level of proficiency on stage and in the recording studio throughout their 33-year career, and were the second youngest quartet to have won the SPEBSQSA championship, as of that time. The quartet became known for continually improving their art, even after their win. They credited much of their success to their coaches, Mary Jo Hatton Thompson, Don Clause, Ron Riegler, Gene Stickler and Ed Weber, to their chorus Director, Jim Miller, and to their long-time arrangers, Ed Waesche and Walter Latzko.
Most Happy Fellows is the Barbershop quartet that won the 1977 SPEBSQSA international competition in Philadelphia.
Music Central was a barbershop chorus formed in 1995 and based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The chorus ranked at the top of its division for most of its first dozen years, and competed internationally in 1999.
Max Q is the barbershop quartet that won the gold medal Barbershop Harmony Society International Barbershop Quartet Contest at Denver's Pepsi Center July 7, 2007. The quartet's run for the title is featured in the 2009 feature documentary American Harmony.
The Virginians is a barbershop chorus located in Richmond, Virginia. Mike Wallen is currently its musical director, and has been serving in this capacity since 1998. It recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and is one of the oldest continuous singing groups in the Greater Richmond Area. Originally chartered in 1952 as the Tobaccoland Chorus, the chapter was renamed to the Virginians, in 1990.
Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical choral music and opera and in the popular styles from many Western cultures ranging from folk songs and musical theater pieces to rock ballads. In the simplest style of vocal harmony, the main vocal melody is supported by a single backup vocal line, either at a pitch which is above or below the main vocal line, often in thirds or sixths which fit in with the chord progression used in the song. In more complex vocal harmony arrangements, different backup singers may sing two or even three other notes at the same time as each of the main melody notes, mostly with consonant, pleasing-sounding thirds, sixths, and fifths.
The Mid-Atlantic District is one of 17 districts of the Barbershop Harmony Society. The district, with three regional divisions, has approximately 90 chapters in the following states: VA, MD, PA, NJ, DE, DC, WV, NY.
Tim Waurick is a barbershop tenor singer, and coach for various barbershop choruses and quartets. Waurick creates learning tracks – recordings in which one part is dominant and the others are sung softly in the background – for the Barbershop Harmony Society, Sweet Adelines International, and various other quartets and choruses around the world. His learning track company is named TimTracks.
Instant Classic is the barbershop quartet that won the International Quartet Championship for 2015 at the Barbershop Harmony Society's annual international convention, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The quartet had placed eighth in the 2014 international contest, and their single "I Won't Send Roses" was a runner up for Best Barbershop Song among the CARA awards in 2015 prior to their international championship. Instant Classic placed second in the 2012 International Collegiate Barbershop Quartet Contest.
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| Preceded by Elastic Four | SPEBSQSA International Quartet Champions 1943 | Succeeded by Harmony Halls |
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